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Firm Information:

Type: Small Private VC

Posted by
Bill Scheurer
on 2010-02-15

PUBLIC:

I recently met with Ryan Spoon in their San Francisco incubator (Dogpatch Labs). He was extremely quick on the uptake, and very respectful and encouraging. We are working to put together a bi-coastal round in the next few months. Polaris is definitely a firm that would interest us as part of the east coast team.

Posted by
E Craig Sanders
on 2008-01-11

PUBLIC:

I had known Alan Spoon previously when I approached him with a funding opportunity. He took a pass at this time, but he's still the first person that I would approach on another venture in the media space. I have great confidence in his intellect, honesty and maturity and I appreciate his operating experience (CEO Washington Post). That's a powerful combination for an entrepreneur seeking a funding partner...

Posted by
Tim
on 2007-12-04

PUBLIC:

We have been working with Polaris going on three years. We are in the 'Life Sciences' space, and they have added tremendous value to our business from the day we started together. I cannot imagine having a better partner. They open up the rolodex to connections whenever asked, and many times without us asking. They have always treated our management team very respectfully, even in down times.
We pitched our business to 23 groups in a four month time frame. Polaris was our number one choice from a personal standpoint of our ownership group after the 23 meetings were complete. Fortunately they were impressed in us as well, and decided to invest in our business. Terry McGuire and Jason Trevison both sit on our board, and add great value to our business.

Posted by
jsuh
on 2007-10-15

PUBLIC:

Similarly surprised by some of the comments here. Something doesn't jive. We were fortunate to have a very competitive fundraising process, and were lucky to receive term sheets from an unbelievable group of investors. Our team had earlier learned the hard way how a bad investor can really set you back, so the decision to go with Polaris was taken very seriously. Alan Spoon and Jason Trevisan sit on our board and so far, so great. They ask insightful questions, give great advice, and are generous with their ample roledex. They are genuinely passionate about our business and take a long-term view to building it. Investors often talk long-term, then put pressure on near-term profits almost immediately. We were impressed how Alan (while President of the Washington Post) bought Kaplan, sacrificed short-term profitability to own the market, and built it into something substantially more valuable. Conviction and staying power... as an operator, that's what you want in a board. It also doesn't hurt that you can throw back a beer with either. Life is short. Also happy to share my experiences in detail with a fellow entrepreneur.

Polaris' presence is weighted to the East Coast, but my experience was in Seattle. Steve Arnold was easy to access and schedule. Though our venture was outside the firm's preferred flow of deals and industries, Steve reacted counter-intuitively and took us to the partners meeting and then through 2 weeks of due diligence. The answer then was "no" but the dialogue and assessment was fresh and helpful. I consider Steve to be of the two best VC process managers I have met; the other is Doug Leone at Sequoia. Their doors and minds are open in a way that makes an entrepreneur want to challenge, engage and partner with them.

Posted by
Scott.Sullivan
on 2007-08-15

PUBLIC:

I have worked within one of Polaris's portfolio companies, and have introduced at least 4 companies to their team. John Flint and Sim Simeonov are top guys who add real value to any board. Always knew where I stood with them, and no games were played.

I have had the opportunity to have presented several companies to these guys over the years ( medical device front) and have found them to be solid citizen / stand up guys. I was treated with respect, always was treated fairly. Never found them to have passed around the business plan, never found them to have done anything even remotely disingenuous. ( Was asked to do some diligence on a deal for them once, and I know that they were extremely conscious of the confidentiality of the materials ) They have always given the opportunities that I have presented to them a fair shake, did more than their share of homework on them, and if they determined that it was a pass, was told promptly where we stood. I have yet to do a deal with them, but I hope to get the chance.

I have been contacted by these guys a number of times over the last couple of years - always an associate. Seems like a solid fund, although I noticed some turnover when my response email bounced back to some of the people who reached out to me...